Investments (360-2-20)

Instructors

Masako Ueda

Meeting Info

555 Clark B03: Mon, Wed, Fri 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

This course teaches the theory of investments and its application in real-world finance. Topics include portfolio selection, asset pricing models, tests of market efficiency and performance evaluation. There will be 4-5 problem sets including case write-ups and a quarter long investment project. Students are encouraged to work on the problem sets in small groups.

Registration Requirements

ECON 360-1, Corporate Finance or BUS_INST 304, Corporate Finance or CIV_ENV 205, Economics and Finance for Engineers, or STAT 365, Introduction to the Analysis of Financial Data.

Learning Objectives

The goal of this course is to introduce students to the issues involved in forming a portfolio of securities. In particular, by the end of the quarter, students should be familiar with the existing set of financial instruments and the related terminology, have an understanding of the tradeoffs facing investors, and have the ability to evaluate alternative investment strategies.

Teaching Method

Two weekly lectures plus problem sets throughout the quarter. The problems will provide practice with the types of calculations and concepts that are important to a proper understanding of the course material. Some problems will provide valuable practice for the midterm and final, while other problems will require you to obtain and make use of real-world financial data or to analyze a case and thus will give you an idea of how theory connects to reality. Sample exams will also be provided to help students practice before the actual exam.

Class Materials (Required)

"Investments by Bodie, Kane and Marcus, 13th Edition (ISBN10: 1264412665). Previous editions are also okay.
Several Cases (A case is a short reading that describes real business stories. It is usually written by business school professors for classroom use. Students will apply the concepts they learn in the class to these real business issues in order to enforce their learning. Each case is usually $4-$5.)"

Class Notes

This course uses the programming language, Python. Python is free and you don\'t need to have prior knowledge/experience on Python to enroll in this class. However, you need to have 3-4GB of free space on your laptop for installation.

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Reserved for Economics Majors & Minors until the end of preregistration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone who has taken the prerequisites. Pre-requisite: Students must have taken ECON 310-1 or MMSS 211-1 and ECON 281 or ECON 381-1 or MATH 386-1 or IEMS 304 or STAT 350 to successfully enroll in this course.